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Rescue workers look for survivors as they stand on the rubble of a house buried by mudslides after a powerful typhoon hit Oshima on Izu Oshima island, about 75 miles south of Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 16, 2013.

A typhoon caused deadly mudslides that buried people and destroyed homes on a Japanese island Wednesday before sweeping up the Pacific coast, grounding hundreds of flights and disrupting Tokyo's transportation during the morning rush. At least 17 deaths were reported and nearly 50 people were missing.

Several houses in a residential area in Oshima are covered by debris from mudslides after a powerful typhoon hit Izu Oshima island, Oct. 16, 2013.

Credit: Kyodo News/AP

Landslide survivors offer prayers as the body of a victim is carried by rescue workers in the rubble of houses in Oshima damaged by landslides after a powerful typhoon hit Izu Oshima island, Oct. 16, 2013.

Credit: Kyodo News/AP

Firefighters stand on rocks fallen from a cliff over a garage and a road in a residential area in Kamakura, southwest of Tokyo, after a powerful typhoon hit Japan's metropolitan area, Oct. 16, 2013.

Credit: Kyodo News/AP

A man stands by the rubble of houses in Oshima that were totally shattered by landslides after a powerful typhoon hit Izu Oshima island, Oct. 16, 2013.

Credit: Kyodo News/AP

A firefighter walks over rocks fallen from a cliff over a garage and a road in a residential area in Kamakura, southwest of Tokyo, after a powerful typhoon hit Japan's metropolitan area, Oct. 16, 2013.

Credit: Kyodo News/AP

Houses in a residential area in Oshima are buried by mudslides after a powerful typhoon hit Izu Oshima island, Oct. 16, 2013.